Have you ever heard of the term "Maycember?" I heard it used a couple of years ago and thought that it perfectly describes my experience of May: just as busy as December, but warmer!
We are wrapping up Maycember here this year. What makes May so busy? It seems that all the things happen all at once, and they're not always the same things, or related things. Things like: chipping a tooth and getting it fixed. Having Annie's braces removed and retainer made. Strawberry-picking and jam-making. The annual homeschool used curriculum sale. *Tons* of gardening to stay on top of so that the weeds don't stay on top of me when July strikes. Wrapping up schoolwork. Ballet rehearsals. Graduation party. Ballet performance to attend. A field trip to a historic site. Haircuts. Two piano competitions. The list goes on......
{the bleeding heart in front of my porch is *HUGE!*}
My Maycember technically won't end until June 16th. On that day, I plan to sleep in, take a deep breath, and stay home all day doing nothing but laundry and reading! Next week is equally busy (Annie's ballet recital is Saturday....there's a playdate in there somewhere...another orthodontist appointment...etc....). Finn turns 14 (!) on June 7, and the day after his birthday the children and I are leaving to return to Charleston to help my father prune his azaleas. We'll be there nearly a week, and the day after we drive home--a full day's drive--my husband and I will turn around and head to Chapel Hill for his oncology appointment. But as of June 16th, summer officially begins for me! :)
Actually, summer felt like it started last week: it was blazing, blazing hot. I called our pool, which we didn't join last year because of covid-related restrictions and issues. As of today, the restrictions are all lifted, and numbers are excellent in our area now, so on Thursday we ran by the pool and joined. I am so excited to be able to enjoy it again this year! We always join the pool--and spend a lot of time there--so last year felt strange. We were fortunate to be able to spend time at my mother-in-law's pool, but it wasn't the same. I'm thrilled! For me, summer is synonymous with long days at the pool. I love my pool hat. I love reading by the pool. I love swimming with my children. I love it all!
{Peony season is in full swing. I have almost 2 dozen peony plants in my flower beds!}
I delight in some normalcy returning to our lives now: attending our nephew's graduation party....joining the pool again....traveling! We have some fun plans for the summer and I'm grateful that it appears that we'll be able to do these things. For the first time *ever* Finn will be attending overnight camp--for 5 nights in July. Will I be able to handle it? Annie will attend day camp at the same location all week. What will it be like to be *alone in my house* every day? I have never, ever, ever had that experience! They also both plan to attend drama day camp later in the summer, so I'll have another week of being alone in the house for much of the day. I can't decide if it will be wonderful or terrible!
{I have a hedge of lavender by the patio and this Grosso Lavender is the best! I like the Provence also, but the shape of the Grosso and its early bloom are marvelous. There's blue false indigo blooming in the background.}
We recently changed our fenceline to encompass the property we actually own (my mother had initially only fenced in a portion of the property when she built the house, because she didn't want to mow it all; the rest of it remained part of the existing cow pasture). We're now officially done with that and our yard is 1.25 acres, which isn't huge, but it's *big enough*--especially when our riding lawn mower breaks. I am in the process of trying to decide how to landscape the rocky area north-east of the house where the black locusts grow. My children call that part "The Fairy Garden," and our goal is to make it a little enchanting!
We are wrapping up school now. I have petered out on most things, frankly, just yielding to the reality of "Maycember." Finn's Spanish class finished in April. Annie and Finn just had their last violin and piano lessons last week, and we only have another week of ballet. I told Annie and Finn that as soon as they finish their math books (and once we finish reading MacBeth), they're Done With School. That should all be wrapped up on July 2 (at the latest!), and then we are taking 7 solid weeks off. In late August Finn's classes begin again (Spanish 2 in person, Honors Biology and Honors French 2 online) and Annie begins her mandatory ballet rehearsals. This spring she auditioned for and was accepted into a local ballet company, and she signed the contract this past week. So autumn will bring new challenges and changes. Seasons of life are certainly shifting as my children develop into people who are getting more specialized and specific in their interests. It's fascinating to watch: Finn's love of languages and piano takes a lot of support and time, and Annie's devotion to ballet is downright humbling (ballet dancers are a disciplined lot, let me tell you!).
And in the midst of ushering these Big Kids into Bigger Kid life, we're also enjoying the sweetness of new life--we spend as much time as we can ooohing and aaahing and cuddling our tiny baby cousin (who is now 7 months old) who lives down the lane. Living on my family's farm, with new generations of family coming along, is one of my own greatest blessings in life and I never, ever take it for granted.
Another thing I never, ever take for granted: a husband who is now two-and-a-half years into remission. We are past the halfway point. My children's father is alive. Stage Four cancer, eradicated. Ever month gets us closer to the five year mark and I think of it all the time: What Is, verses What Could Have Been, and I'm so grateful that God clearly led us out of our city and to the University of North Carolina, because if He hadn't, our story--we now know--would have not been the same. One day maybe I'll tell that story--but not today. The peonies are calling and I have books to organize and a baby cardigan to knit.
Happy Memorial Day weekend, friends!
